Plagiarism gets Yawang writer ousted from scriptwriters association
by javabeans
Here’s an interesting story (or is it just interesting to me?) about the fate of the scriptwriter for Yawang, Lee Hee-myung, who has been accused of plagiarism and has now been kicked out of the Korean TV & Radio Writers Association as a direct result.
This is actually the second time Yawang has been accused of plagiarism, the first instance occurring when Yawang debuted early this year and immediately raised concerns with its similarity to the plot of Nice Guy, KBS’s hit melodrama from last fall penned by star writer Lee Kyung-hee. (The comparison was unavoidable, given some obvious similarities: Nice Guy is about a sweet young man who takes the fall for the beloved noona of his youth, who leaves him behind as she marries a rich man and transforms into a cold, opportunistic schemer; the hero then decides to seek revenge against her. Yawang features a hero who’s loved the heroine since childhood, she discards him in her ambitious greed for power, he vows revenge…
Still, similarities in basic plot structure do not plagiarism make, and that tempest in a teapot settled down eventually. Yawang’s PD even stated that he’d revised some of the plot to avoid further similarities to Nice Guy, given their overlap.
However, then more plagiarism claims arose regarding the fact that the first scripts for Yawang were written by Choi Ran (of Iljimae), but Lee Hee-myung was then hired as replacement. (Other works by Lee Hee-myung include Tomato, Successful Story of a Bright Girl, and Rooftop Prince.) In response to the claim (and a petition that circulated), the writers association set up a committee to investigate plagiarism and copyright infringement issues. After a detailed investigation, the committee determined that Lee plagiarized Choi’s synopsis and scripts, and expelled him following the rules of their disciplinary committee and board of directors’ rules.
I have to say, it sounds like an odd claim to make when both writers worked on the same show (albeit not at the same time), unless the point of contention is that writer Lee passed off the other scripts as his own work. The stories don’t clarify that point, but I have to presume something in that vein for it to make sense. The committee stated, “A writer’s original work is their lifeblood, and thus the violation of one’s copyright is dealt with with severe punishment. We appeal to our writer members to be aware of this to prevent further unpleasant reoccurrences of this kind.”
The story doesn’t end there, though, as writer Lee then took the writers association to court on October 15 for a civil suit claiming that his expulsion was invalid and demanded 50 million won in compensation. Lee’s legal team asserted that writer Choi was acting out of spite for being fired after her scripts were deemed inadequate. He has a point in that Yawang is an adaptation of a manhwa and therefore has source material, but I’d be curious to know what the detailed investigation turned up supporting the infringement conclusion.
On one hand, it’s somewhat reassuring to see that plagiarism claims do get treated seriously. On the other hand, there does seem to be some dicey territory in there and if he was playing fair, it sucks to be blacklisted from your own organization. On the other hand (what, you don’t have three hands?), if he plagiarized, the punishment seems fitting. On the fourth and final hand, I hate plagiarists and cheaters because having someone claim your (awesome, brilliant!) work with their name is a really sucky feeling.
So in conclusion: Plagiarism is bad, don’t do it—seriously don’t do it—and sometimes people get caught which is nice, unless it’s a false accusation which is less nice. So maybe there is no conclusion.
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Tags: drama production, lawsuits, scriptwriters
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1 DayDreamer
October 23, 2013 at 9:10 AM
Yeah, the stories sure aren't clear whether there truly was plagiarism but let's hope for justice!
Besides that, what would Anthony do? =P
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nova611
October 23, 2013 at 10:20 AM
lol
u speak my mind~
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Viki
October 23, 2013 at 4:50 PM
Exactly...
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whitewire
October 24, 2013 at 12:04 AM
What would Anthony do??
(Of course for Go-eun he will stake his acclaimed name)
Oh! And this November 5 is the 1st year anniversary of King of Dramas! Still the best drama ever made for me!
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bjharm
October 24, 2013 at 3:55 AM
hmm good or bad as personal option goes but Successful Story of a Bright Girl was a MEGA hit, so it could be just the writer having a lot more years under her belt and status of a big hit show so they found in her favour as she so much senoir to the other person who is pretty much a newbie agaisnt her years as a writer.
Like most of these these you never hear the full story either way.
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2 Annie
October 23, 2013 at 9:20 AM
I dunno, I find that people don't just get up one day and decide to plagiarize - in my experience, it tends to be part of a pattern of questionable behavior so this situation looks a bit off to me. Of course, if the allegations are true and he put his name on writer Choi's script, the punishment is well served.
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3 hipployta
October 23, 2013 at 9:21 AM
I was confused because how is it plagiarism when you're working from the manga source material anyway
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adette
October 23, 2013 at 10:33 AM
well.. the way i think of it is that if you're translating comics to video, you can't just plop a manhwa chapter in front of an actor and say "okay, go!" so even if they're working from a manhwa source, specific dialogue and blocking has to be written for the actors. if one person wrote a bunch of scripts and got fired, and then the person who replaced them used the same dialogue or wording without crediting the original writer, thats plagiarism.
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windsun33
October 23, 2013 at 10:56 AM
That depends. If the previous writer was working for the production company, then the writing would be the property of that company, not the writer. If the writer was hired on a contract or outsource basis, then it would belong to the writer - usually. Laws can be a bit fuzzy on that.
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Lindy
October 23, 2013 at 11:36 AM
I agree; the laws can be very fuzzy. And this case in particular seems very fuzzy indeed. It seems to be a screen adaptation of an original work by another writer entirely so who owns the rights to do the adaptation? Who actually owns the copyright on the material? Is it the first writer, Choi Ran? Or is it the production company?
I don't know anything about how the law on plagiarism and copyright infringement works in Korea but if the production company owns the adaptation rights and scripts produced(i.e. Choi Ran was hired to do the adaptation), they can do what ever they want with it. If the issue is proper credit, then her beef would be with the production company, not with the replacement writer. Also how did the replacement writer even get copies of the first writer's scripts if not from the production company?
Writers get replaced on projects all the time and not just because they are bad or have turned in shoddy work. Sometimes it's a mutual decision; the writer has a different vision for the material or sometimes a fresh perspective is needed. My husband is a screenwriter and he has been replaced on projects and has also been hired to be the replacement writer as well as to "doctor" existing scripts. He has written original scripts and has done adaptations of existing material. Most writers learn not to take it too personally.
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Lindy
October 23, 2013 at 11:44 AM
Oh yes; plagiarism is very bad indeed and any one who commits it deserves to be struck from the Writers Guild asap. Passing off another's work as your own is dreadful. The question is did this particular writer commit plagiarism working on these particular scripts?
Gidget
October 23, 2013 at 3:10 PM
Lindy12
Would a deal ever be structured to split ownership between rights to the adaptation and rights to the adapted screenplay?
That's the only scenario that makes sense to me.
In that case, the rights to the adaptation could have been passed on to the production company, while the rights to the draft screenplay could have been retained by the original writer. Perhaps as a form of collateral against cancellation or termination.
Would that be a reasonable guess?
Lindy
October 23, 2013 at 4:29 PM
This is for Gidget. No reply button. Entertainment deals can be very complex if not labyrinthian so anything's possible. I asked my husband about your question and he says this is very improbable. Mind you, he is not a Korean writer and also not a lawyer but he has inked plenty of deals. Generally whoever pays the money, makes the rules and a production company is very unlikely to cede any sort of control over the adapted screenplay or even any screenplay to a mere writer. They want to keep everything! Writers really are low people on the totem pole in these situations.
These things are very strictly controlled by the various writers' guilds. Sometimes multiple writers or even teams of writers work on the same project and each is entitled to a credit on the final product according to the amount of work which ends up in the final draft.
I am assuming that Choi Ran was paid for the work she already did. So the issue becomes not that the replacement writer "plagiarized my work" but rather "I didn't get my proper credit for the work I did on this screenplay". For example, my husband wrote an original screenplay based on original characters he'd created for a different medium. He sold the screenplay and the production company hired a new writer to "rework" his script. He wasn't very happy about this but there was really nothing he could do about it. There are lawyers who have made a very good living on the whole rights versus underlying rights issue.
This case is very odd. It would seem that the real issue is with the production company and not the replacement writer at all. Did Choi Ran sue the new writer in a court of law? Or did she just get him struck from the Writers' Association? Because it seems like there is some kind of behind the scenes politicking going on here. It's good the replacement writer is suing because this could set a horrible precedent for any writer who is hired to work on an already existing screenplay. Hopefully everything will be revealed in court.
nova611
October 23, 2013 at 10:34 AM
i wish jb can explain in anthony terms
cos its all jumbo mambo to me
didn't understand it at all
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4 shisuisen
October 23, 2013 at 9:24 AM
The whole situation sounds funny. For all we know, Writer Lee could have been wrongly accused. However, if he's really guilty, then he deserves the punishment.
"A writer’s original work is their lifeblood" Hear hear!
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5 Mystisith
October 23, 2013 at 9:27 AM
In-teresting. For the fight to go that far, I have to presume that the plaintiff had a good reason and solid proofs against the plagiarist. Seems like a complicated case (adaptation, script duet...). I can't help thinking that personal grudges could play a part too (plagiarists tend to be recidivists).
I agree about plagiarism being lame: If what you copy is bad, then what's the point? And if it gets acknowledged, then you'll be busted. Stupid really.
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6 Ace
October 23, 2013 at 9:30 AM
A little off topic, sorry... I'm currently watching Successful Story of a Bright Girl and I'm not sure if I should continue after reading that the writer also penned Rooftop Prince which I did not like. However, I'm finding Jang Nara so cute and it's my first Jang Hyuk drama where I liked his character (even if he's a rich, bratty heir).
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j
October 23, 2013 at 11:11 AM
bright girl's success is absolutely worth watching --- its one of my fav dramas that made me really fall in love with kdrama. its a great rom-com especially since they don't stick to cliches and have a little fun... I have yet to see a drama which topped the ingenuity of the first meet here...
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mrmz
October 23, 2013 at 4:26 PM
I watched it but found it boring..
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cheezels
October 23, 2013 at 6:42 PM
I watched it eons ago and liked it. I can still remember the main theme song!!! Dramas in those days had different pace and style from today's dramas, though... but if you liked the 1st 2 eps or so, just keep watching.
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bjharm
October 24, 2013 at 8:03 AM
It was the very first of it kind to break the mega hit dominance until then reservered only for heavy melodramas, it had a 40% plus vewier rating and themes and sub themes from it have been used and reused over and over since its airing way back 2002 in pretty much all comdey/romance dramas made since.
As to why it was such a huge hit at the time? Perhaps korean veiwer where getting tied of the melodramas and wanted some thing lighter and it was made at the right time. Jang Nara had just started her run as the IT girl of korea as a pop singer so she was I guess something of the original pop idol cross over to acting that so common today.
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7 iheartjm
October 23, 2013 at 9:33 AM
oh this article definitely made me miss Anthony...
plagiarism is bad. the after effects are even worse.
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nova611
October 23, 2013 at 10:22 AM
i miss Anthony too :-'(
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redfox
October 23, 2013 at 11:07 AM
aint it funny how that character has become real like one of us. what´s his number anyway, lets give him a call.
ahh too tired for this, but... I suppose if someone thinks they have it easy and someone else has done the work they eventually get paid for,I think it is not just plagiarism. it is a failure to do your job. I think that is the key factor not copüying. if you are a writer and you show that you dont want to do any work then you should be sacked.
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goldeng
October 25, 2013 at 1:44 PM
I miss THE legit King of all Dramas too :(( When I read the title, the 1st one I thought about was Anthony lol if we're talking about similar dramas and events, then Secrets' writer should be shivering in fear rn because Secret's premise was pretty similar to Nice Guy and Yawang... Hope we could know more about what happened u.u
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8 thesandwitch04
October 23, 2013 at 9:52 AM
That's some serious accusation especially since the story is based on a manhwa. In my book, it's right up there with murder and sexual assault.
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9 windsun33
October 23, 2013 at 9:55 AM
Yawang also sounds an awful lot like "Queen of Ambition" - I wonder why that did not also raise questions.
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mommai
October 23, 2013 at 9:59 AM
They're the same drama, unless I'm being clueless and missing a joke.
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adette
October 23, 2013 at 10:36 AM
they're the same drama:) the korean title is 야왕 (yawang), the english title is queen of ambition.
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windsun33
October 23, 2013 at 10:59 AM
Ah - got it.. somehow I just never connected the two names.
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10 mommai
October 23, 2013 at 10:00 AM
I find it interesting (I find any time we learn about some behind the scenes stuff interesting), but it's definitely not clear, that's for sure.
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11 dmohican14
October 23, 2013 at 10:05 AM
@Windsun33 Because it's the same drama, Queen of Ambition is the English title.
Yeah, this isn't really clear, but if Lee was using Choi's script without permission, then I think he deserves the punishment
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windsun33
October 23, 2013 at 11:07 AM
Yes, a few have pointed out my error :D Too early in the morning I guess, I should have recognized the images at least.
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12 meanrice
October 23, 2013 at 11:18 AM
The thing that is troubling me is the lawsuit. I tend to believe that [rational] people try to settle before punishment is meted out. Like "i will cop to it and agree never to be a head writer again instead of expulsion." But that is some gumption to turn around and sue.
Also if he did truly plagarize...how lazy are you? There is a manwha you can take the dialogue and story-line from.
Well it is TV & Radio...he still got Movies right?
Plagiarism is bad. I put it akin to stealing someone's imagination. And all the children's shows I watched (read: still watch) tell me that stealing someone's imagination is like stealing someone's soul. If you steal my soul, that means I am haunting you. Yeah syllogism (not logic though).
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13 AnotherFan
October 23, 2013 at 12:06 PM
I think so too that the plagiarism claim is a bit muddied up as the original premise and outline is taken from a manha.
Unless Lee's final scripts had deliberately taken good chunks from the original writer's book, it's hard to swallow the blame... BTW, I did not see that much similarity between Yawang and Nice Guy, other than the nice-guy-falls-for-the-bad-(older)-woman-and-seeking-revenge-later, so I'm glad the current verdict is not based off that plagiarism claim there. Speaking of similar plotlines and premises, don't we have a bundle of them? I wonder when there will be claims against copying wrist-grabs & cold-water-face-splashing-in-public & drunk-piggybacks etc etc?
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Ann
October 23, 2013 at 12:12 PM
I watched both shows and I did not think of them as the same except from the one trope. If that was plagiarism, then wouldn't every poor girl meets rich boy be plagiarism?
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14 Gene
October 23, 2013 at 12:56 PM
They should also investigate another writer:
Hong Seung Hee (Take my Hand) who seems to be plagiarizing Yeo Jung Mi (Yellow Boots/Ice Adonis). So many copied plots that it is not funny.
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15 fab
October 23, 2013 at 1:18 PM
Let's see if I get this: Lee got found guilty because 1) Yawang' resemblance to Nice Guy; 2) he stole Choi Ran' work; or 3) for both?
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16 Colors
October 23, 2013 at 1:22 PM
I just wanted to point out that sometimes, people let things go despite the rights they could claim because everybody does that and it doesn't bother them. But then, if you have something to gain out of complaining like money or annoying someone for revenge or something, what's usually not an issue becomes an issue.
As an example, I've heard of cases like that in France where artists are paid for sculptures in a public space or whatever by town halls and later on, it can become an issure if they didn't concede the rights to the mayor (like it's done most of the time because even mayors don't know the law very well or just don't learn). Most of the time, it'll be fine no matter what happens to the work of art (taking pictures and reproducing it without consent or paying the artist, repainting it without consent because metal rusts, etc) but from time to time the artists sue.
So maybe (and it's just a possibility) in the case of replacing a scriptwriter already adapting another work of art, it can get confusing and people don't bother with lawsuits (whether it's fair or not).
Anyways, I'm just thinking it may be the tip of the iceberg.
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17 cacazeel
October 23, 2013 at 1:29 PM
i think the producers should also be at fault here. is not the producers who decide the final say? they must have read both the previous writer's script and the new writer's. if they found the similarity then why did they go ahead with it. Also, i read on soompi that the writer was brought in the middle of the drama. so, should not his storyline and synopsis be somewhat the same. and what if the producers wanted some similarity with only a little change. and, if it was already mid-way when the writer was changed, that means the script belonged to the production house, right?
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18 kumi
October 23, 2013 at 3:05 PM
A copycat's a copycat and that's that.
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19 canxi
October 23, 2013 at 4:22 PM
I am so confused. But plagiarism is bad. Don't do it.
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20 Quiet Thought
October 23, 2013 at 4:22 PM
Ironic that if you copy unoriginal makjang tripe, you are theoretically in more dangerous of plagerism than if you write something that is actually creative.
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21 crazedlu
October 23, 2013 at 4:26 PM
I see Yunho in a drama poster.
Akdj;flkjdasljkl.
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22 ailee
October 23, 2013 at 4:49 PM
I dont really get it..
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23 Viki
October 23, 2013 at 4:51 PM
I didn't know we have 5 hands...
anyway, I agree, I hate plagiarism...ugh...people think it's okay but IT'S NOT!
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24 Rovi
October 23, 2013 at 4:52 PM
Oh...
So that's why even Kwon Sang-woo was disappointed in this drama.
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25 Elvira
October 23, 2013 at 8:29 PM
Is that TVXQ's Yunho as one of the casts?
RATING, guys.
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26 Perrie
October 23, 2013 at 9:30 PM
Dannnnng
He could write a drama about it....
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Perrie
October 23, 2013 at 9:31 PM
hope he doesn't steal my idea..
lol
I kid, I kid
It sucks because we'll never know the truth
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27 bambi
October 23, 2013 at 9:39 PM
this article makes me think of my modernism course
...though everything is making me think of it at this moment.
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28 cheekbones
October 23, 2013 at 9:46 PM
So, maybe, writer Lee worked on and expanded writer Choi's script. So then, if that's the case, writer Choi should have been credited, too, and got paid ?
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29 Dbsklove
October 23, 2013 at 10:49 PM
Plagiarism is a serious issue....
but sorry I was too busy loling at the 5 hands you were referencing.
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30 kakashi
October 23, 2013 at 11:59 PM
I work in academia and it is truly shocking how people behave with regards to other people's ideas. So, yeah, I am glad if somebody takes action against plagiarism. But I also do not want it to be for the wrong reasons. That doesn't help.
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31 gulagula
October 24, 2013 at 9:07 PM
it would be better if they ousted heirs writer. she has copied and plagiat all holywood movies. LOL.. pathetic
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32 Francie
October 25, 2013 at 3:35 AM
This case should be a warning signal to the script writer of Heirs because of similarities to the plot of Boys over Flowers.
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Lindy
October 25, 2013 at 2:07 PM
It's unfair to say that the writer of Heirs should take this example as some kind of a warning signal that she is somehow guilty of plagiarism due to the similarities with BoF because, unless she put the original deal together, this has nothing to do with her. I'm sorry but it just is unfair to say this. She's most likely just the writer and has been hired to do a job. This is a classic example of what is referred to in North America as the "underlying rights" question. I can't imagine stuff like this would be any different in Korea.
You can be sure that a lawyer or team of lawyers specializing in entertainment law have gone over everything to do with the production. If the similarities to BoF are obvious, then this would have to be dealt with first thing. I can't say whether or not this is true as I didn't watch much of BoF. The Heirs people would offer some form of compensation to the BoF people, perhaps in cash or maybe in the form of some sort of quid pro quo. Perhaps the original writer on BoF would get some compensation but that depends on his/her contract. Also wasn't the Korean BoF in itself a remake of an original Japanese production. So which entity did they have to deal with anyway?
Entertainment deals are very complex indeed. Reading over even an average contract can be quite terrifying for the average layperson. You might wonder if, by signing this, are you now contractually obligated to wash the director's underwear for the rest of your life. Which is why everyone involved is lawyered up to the neck before signing anything. They are written by entertainment lawyers for other entertainment lawyers and they seek to cover all the bases. Like all the bases because in entertainment law there are more than 4.
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leonardswench
October 27, 2013 at 9:24 PM
There are entire scenes in Heirs that give me the chills as they are so similar to scenes from BOF.
But over the last 7 years, I have found this to be true of many dramas, with dialogue SO similar, even for only ten or twelve lines in a row, I am not sure how "they" get away with it.
As a screenwriter, I've written original work and had my own agent make changes to avoid claims of plagiarism, as well as being hired as a replacement writer and script doctor. And I've been stunned when material I have written ten years ago is very closely followed in a production and had to go back and ask, "Did we sell to them?"
In the end, we are all combining the same combinations of words, the same well-worn scenarios, into hopefully fairly "original" formats by a unique twist on a classic story.
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33 norule
October 25, 2013 at 5:30 AM
Exactly! Heirs is like..been there..done that..very boring and even lmh couldnt save it.
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34 goldeng
October 25, 2013 at 1:26 PM
Its funny how I avoided Yawang like the plague after flipping soo many tables with nice Guy because I thought it was the noble idiot story all over again!
I'm so confused... First, Yawang has the same old revenge plot... I can name a couple of dramas,telenovelas,movies,manga,etc. with that same plot so it kinda sucks to be ousted for such a generic -and boring- plot. Second, if its based on a manhwa and The rights for the adaptation were sold to the company, wasnt the company the owner of the scripts at the moment Choi was fired? it wasnt the company the one handing Lee the scripts Choi wrote? I dont understand a thing...! The worst thing is we probably would never know what the heck happened :(
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Lindy
October 25, 2013 at 5:16 PM
There is a reasonable chance we will, if we can read Korean or someone translates it. that is. It seems this case is going to an actual court of law in which case evidence of plagiarism must be produced to back up his removal from the association. A Writers' Association like, for example, the Screenwriters Guild, isn't a court of law. It is rather a professional organization and how these decisions are made can remain secret. The writer who replaced the first writer must feel he has a strong enough case to let the courts decide and to have the decision overturn and to be entitled to some compensation for damage to his reputation. It might be settled out of court, though, in which case the details will probably not be revealed.
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35 yuggy
October 28, 2013 at 5:02 PM
It is not plagiarism. Those are the cliches that gets recycled in every dramas.
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